Railway-switch.



PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

H. N. 'LA FLAME. RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24.1995.

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629i IMQ/oom N0. 798,515. PATENTED AUG 29, 1905 H. N. LA FLAME.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED HAY 24 1905 N 3 AB /zfeny /7. L/aZ/Hge $5 a IX/lf No. 798,515. PATENTE!) AUG. 29, 1.905. H. N. LA FLAME.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

A1 PLI0ATI0N FILED MAY 24,1905.

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f' Z4 Y UNUED PATENT QFFICE.

RAILWAY-SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1905.

Application tiled May 24, 1905. Serial No. 262,001.

To all whom t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, HENRY N. LA FLAME, a citizen of the United States, residing at 7aterville, in the county oi'Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specitication.

rl`his invention relates to railway-switches, the main object of the invention being to provide an automatic railway-switch having combined therewith operating mechanism embod ying turn-posts located at opposite sides of the switch-stand and at distances suiiiciently remote therefrom to enable the train,by means of a suitable tripping device carried thereby, to operate the switch automatically, opening the same to allow the train to leave the main track and pass to the siding and afterward closethe switch, all being accomplished without the aid of the usual attendant or switchman.

vWhile the switch is automatic and adapted to be operated by the train, provision is made whereby the switch may also be operated by hand on the part of the switchman standing at the side ot' the track in the usual manner.

One of the principal objects oi' the present. invention is to provide a construction whereby the semaphore-carrying standard of the switch operating mechanism is normally locked, so that it cannot be turned accidentally or by an unauthorized person, and to provide train-operated mechanism wherebysaid standard is automatically unlocked, turned, and again locked automatically by the moving train.

lith the above and other objects in View, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

1n the accompanying' drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective View showing' the rail way-switch ot' this invention applied to a railway, the switchbeing shown closed. Fig. 2 is a plan view ol the same, showing the switch open. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the switch closed. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic View ot' a cab, showing the tripping devices carried thereby. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the tripping devices applied to a Caboose. Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view oi' the switchstand and operative parts connected therewith, also showing' a section of the railway and switch connections. Fig. 7 is a plan View showing the bottom plate of the switchsstand, the latter being removed. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the switch-stand, showing the combined hasp and hand operating-lever. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the top plate upon which the switchstand rests. Fig. 10 is a perspective View of the cross-head carried by the switch-standard. Fig. 11 is a detail perspective view of the semaphore-throwing lever and fork. Fig. 12 is a detail perspective view showing the pulley-segment on the lower end of one of the turn-posts. Fig. 13 is a side elevation ofthe upper portion of one of the turn-posts with its lever-arm' and a portion of the stand in which said post is mounted to turn, and Fig. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the tripping devices carried by the cab and Caboose.

Like reference-numerals designate corresponding parts in all tigures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1, 2, and 3 illustrate a portion oi' a railway road-bed, 1 designating' the rails of the main track, and 2 the switch-rails, the pivoted extensions 3 being connected to the shifting-chair 4, by which they are moved laterally to open and close the switch, said chair being operated by means of a connecting bar or rod 5, which is connected to and actuated by a crank-arm 6 on the switch-standard 7, which is mounted to turn in the switch-stand, (shown at 8,) said standard carrying a semaphore or target 9 at its upper end. The standard 7 is provided at a suitable point between its ends with a squared or shouldered portion 10, which is movable up and down in a recess 11 in the upper portion of the stand 8. On the top of the stand is arranged a socket-plate l2, having a squared or shouldered socket 13 adapted to receive and engage the squared or shouldered portion 1() ot' the standard 7 when the latter is raised, and thus prevent the turning ot' the standard, an interlocked engagement being thus normally maintained between the standard 7 and the switch-stand 8. The recess 11 is of suflicient size to allow the shouldered portion 10 ofthe standard to turn freely when said standard is lowered, as shown in Fig. 6.

r1`he socket-plate l2 is provided with a combined hasp and hand-lever extension 14, piv-` IOO IIO

a cap or 'flange 17 at the top of the switchstand. The part 14 is provided with an opening adapting' it to pass over a staple 18, said staple being adapted to receive a suitable padlock 19 to prevent unauthorized tampering' with the switch-locking mechanism. By removing' the padlock 19 the extension 14 may be raised into line with the socket-plate 12 and used as a lever for turning' the switchstandard and operating the switch by hand.

17' designates a keeper extending across the cap 17 and over the socket-plate 12 to keep the socket-plate from moving upward when the standard 7 is being elevated.

The means for automatically locking and unlocking and raising and lowering the switchstandard may be described as follows: Beneath the switch-stand 8 is arranged a top plate 20, upon which the stand rests and which is secured to the projecting ends of ties 21 or any other suitable foundation provided for that purpose. The plate 2O is provided with a circular opening 22, and within said opening' is a semicircular flange 23, adapted to cooperate with the semaphore-throwing lever hereinafter described. Beneath the plate 20 and at a suitable distance therefrom is a bottom plate 24, having a circular recess 24, in which is mounted an oscillatory head or pulley 25, said head being adapted to operate between the top and bottom plates, the means for turning said head consisting of a pair of operating-cables 26, leading in opposite directions, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the cables being so wound upon the head 25 that as one cable is unwound from the head the other cable is wound thereon. At suitable distances from the switch-stand and on opposite sides thereof are arranged turn-posts 27, provided with laterally-projecting leverarms 28, preferably bail-shaped and provided with antifriction-rollers 29. adapted to be struck by suitable means carried by a moving train, which thereby operates to partially turn the posts 27. Each of the posts 27 is mounted in a suitable stand comprising' a base 30 and a superimposed bearing-head 31, connected to the posts by braces 32. Each of the turnposts 27 is also provided on its lower end with a rigidly-attached pulley-segment 33, having a peripl'ieralgroove 34, in which one end of the cable 26 is received and fastened. It will thus be seen that as one turn-post 27 is operated it draws on one of the cables 26, thus partially turning the oscillatory head 25, the latter acting in turn to wind up the other cable 26 and partially turn the turn-post at the opposite side of the switch-stand, thus setting the lever-arm 28 of the last-named turn-post in readiness to be operated by the train after passing' the switch in order to close the switch after the train has passed to the siding'. The oscillatory head 25 is provided with a large central opening, and the wall of said opening is provided with a cam-groove 35, in which are received the opposite ends of a cross head 36, fitted upon the lower end of the switch-standard 7, as shown in Fig. 6. By preference the oppositely-projecting arms of the crosshcad 36 are provided with antifriction-rollers 37, which work in the carri-groove 35.r The cam-groove 35 is so shaped that as the head 25 turns the rollers 37 work up and down, the cross-head being thus alternately raised and lowered and serving to impart a corresponding movement to the standard 7, the eifect of which is to move the shouldered portion l() of said standard into and out of interlocked engagement with the socket-plate 12, the standard being normally raised, so as to effect a locking of the same against axial movement. The arms of the cross-head 36 rest and work up and down in slotted brackets 38, projecting upward from the bottom plate 24, said brackets permitting the cross -head to rise and fall without turning. Thus as the oscillatory head 25 is turned in one direction the standard 7 is elevated, and as said head is turned in the opposite direction the standard is lowered.

In order to turn the standard 7 and work the semaphore after the standard is lowered to the position shown in Fig. 6 and thereby unlocked, a semaphore-throwing lever 39 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at 40 on the head 25. Said lever extends vertically, and its lower extremity 41 traverses an arcuate slot 42 in the bottom plate 24, said slot permitting the head 25 to turn without operating the lever 39, the arrangement being' such that when the lever reaches either end of said slot the end wall of the slot operates on the lower extremity of said lever to throw the same one way or the other. The upper end of said lever is made in the form of a forkv43, one or the other branches of which is adapted to engage a tappet-arm 44, projecting laterally from the standard 7 and having a rigid .connection therewith. The tappetarm 44 works above the iiange 23 of the top plate 20, the ends of said flange serving to throw the lever 39 out of engagement with the tappet-arm when said lever comes in contact with the extremities of said flange.

By means of the construction above described the lirst operation is to turn the oscillatory head 25 and cause it, through the medium of the cam-groove 35 and cross-head 36, to lower the standard 7 and unlock the same.

The continued movement of thehead 25 throwsy switch the tripping .device thereon operates ICO IlO

the second turn-post, thus unlocking and turning the standard in a reverse direction, restoring the semaphore to a position indicating that theswitch is closed and again locking the standard.

The device for tripping the switch-operating mechanism hereinabove described consists of a trip-lever, (best shown in Fig. 14,) said lever comprising a triangularl'y-shaped headl having the reversely-inclined impact portions 45 and the shank or handle portion 46, said lever'being pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the cab or caboose, as shown at 47, the handle 46 extending within the cab or caboose for convenience in setting the trip, while the head projects outward from the side of the cab or caboose when the trip is in operative position suiciently to strike against the lever-arms 28 of the turn-posts 27, and thus operate said turn-posts in the manner above described. When the trip -lever is folded to its inoperative position, as shown at Fig. 5, the same may be held in such position by means of a sliding latch 48 or other suitable retaining device.

It will be apparent that the construction hereinabove described is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, and minor detailsoil construction, which may accordingly be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacriiicing any oi the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a railway-switch, a switch-stand, a semaphore-standard operatively connected to throw the switch, a train-operated turn-post located at a distance therefrom, and operating connections between the turn-post and switchstandard by means of which the standard is unlocked and turned and again locked. n

2. In a railway-switch, a switch-stand, a semaphore-standard connected to throw the switch, a train-operated turn-post at a distance therefrom, interlocking means between the switch-stand and semaphore-standard, and operative connections between the turn-post and standard for locking and unlocking and turning said standard.

3. In a railway-switch,'a switch-stand having a shouldered socket, a semaphore-carrying and switch-shifting standard shouldered to engage and interlock with said socket, and means operable from a distance for throwing the standard into and out of interlocked engagement with said socket and also turning the standard and its semaphore.

4. In a railway-switch, a switch-stand having a shouldered socket, a semaphore-carrying and switch-shifting standard shouldered to engage and interlock with said socket, and means operable froma distance for moving the standard endwise into and out of interlocked engagement with said socket and also turning the standard and its semaphore.

5. In a railway-switch, a switch-stand having' a shouldered socket, a semaphore-carrying and switch-shifting standard shouldered to engage and interlock with said socket, an oscillatory head having means to raise and lower and turn the standard, and means for operating' said head.

6. In a railway-switch, a switch-stand having a shouldered socket, a semaphore-carrying and switch-shifting standard shouldered to engage and interlock with said socket, an oscillatory head having means to raise and vlower and turn the standard, a train-operated turn-post at a distance lfrom the switch-stand, andan operating-cable connecting the turnpost and standard.

7. In a railway-switch, a switch-stand having a shouldered socket, a semaphore-carrying and switch-shifting standard shouldered to engage and interlock with said socket, and means operable from a distance for imparting a stepped movement to the standard, imparting both vertical and aXial motion thereto.

8. In a railway-switch, a switch-operating stand having a shouldered socket, a semaphore-carrying andl switch-shifting standard shouldered to engage and interlock with said socket, a cross-head connected with said standard, an oscillatory head at the lower end of the standard provided with a cam-groove in whichthe `cross-head works, and means on the oscillatory head for turning the standard axially.

9. In a railway-switch, a switch-stand having a shouldered socket, asemaphore-carry- -ing and switch-shifting standard shouldered to engage and interlock with said socket, an oscillatory head surrounding the lower portion of the standard and provided with a camgroove, a cross-head on the standard and working in said groove, a tappet-arm projecting from the standard, and a throw-lever carried by the oscillatory head and cooperating with said tappet-arm.

10. In a railway-switch, a switch-stand having a shouldered socket, a seinaphore-carrying and switch-shifting standard shouldered Ato engage and interlock with said socket, an

oscillatory head encircling said standard and provided with a cam-groove, a cross-head on the standard engaging said groove, a tappetarm projecting from the standard, a throwlever carried by the oscillatory head and cooperating' with said tappet-arm, and means for tripping the throw-lever at certain points in the movement of the oscillatory head while the standard is unlocked.

11. In a railway-switch, aswitch-stand having a shouldered socket-plate, a semaphorecarrying and switch-shifting' standard shouldered to engage and interlock with said socket- IOO IIO

plate,v vand aconnbined hasp-and-lever extenthe turn-posts and standard, and one ormore IO sion having a pivotal connection with Said trip-levers carried by the train for operating socket-plate. said turn-posts- 12. 1n a railway-switch, a switch-stand hav- In testimony whereof I ailx my signature in 5 ing a shouldered socket, a semaphore-carrypresence of two witnesses.

ing and switch-shitting standard shouldered HENRY N. LA FLAME. to engage and interlock with said socket, turn- Witnesses: posts at a distance from the switch-stand, ca- EDWARD S. FILIEo,

bles forming operating connections between WILLIAM JOHNSON. 

